insert_link South Africa South Africa and Zimbabwe sign an agreement for water transfer to Musina SA Minister of Water and Sanitation, Senzo Mchunu, and his Zimbabwean counterpart, minister Anxious Jongwe Masuka, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the transfer of treated water from Beitbridge Water Treatment Works to Musina Town, Limpopo. Director-general, Sean Phillips says the bilateral agreement will provide approximately 15-million cubic meters per annum to the Musina area, benefiting over 132-thousand residents across 192 villages, supporting various socio-economic activities: todayMarch 15, 2024 37
insert_link South Africa Trevor Manuel views cadre deployment as the greatest weakness in South Africa at present SA Former Finance minister and anti-apartheid activist, Trevor Manuel, says the greatest weaknesses in the state at present are cadre deployment and financial management. He gave the keynote address at Daily Maverick’s The Gathering 2024 in Cape Town yesterday. Manuel says his generation has been accused of walking away from an incomplete transition, adding that there was a need for an honest discussion about those aspects that remained undone including […] todayMarch 15, 2024 35
insert_link Environment Sewage leaks put South Africa’s freshwater at risk: how citizen scientists are helping clean up By Jim Taylor, University of KwaZulu-Natal and Mark Graham, University of KwaZulu-Natal Across South Africa, sewage systems are leaking and contaminating the country’s freshwater. Involving the affected communities can help prevent this pollution hazard, as a group of 15 citizen scientists in KwaZulu-Natal province have shown. Their community water monitoring programme, working with municipal authorities, has managed to prevent raw sewage from flooding into rivers. The young, unemployed […] todayMarch 15, 2024 35
insert_link South Africa ActionSA implores Parliament to appoint a qualified and competent Deputy Public Protector ActionSA is calling on Parliament’s Justice and Correctional Services committee to not put forward narrow party-political interests as it finds a suitable candidate for the vacant position of Deputy Public Protector. The position became vacant last year after Kholeka Gcaleka was interviewed and appointed as the new Public Protector. The committee interviewed seven candidates on Wednesday and will deliberate next week. ActionSA’s, Julie Seton, says the Public Protector’s office needs […] todayMarch 15, 2024 30
insert_link South Africa Economic Freedom Fighters MPs Found Guilty of Contempt for Remarks Against SA President Ramaphosa Nine members of South Africa's Parliament from the Economic Freedom Fighters have been convicted of contempt of Parliament after branding President Cyril Ramaphosa a money launderer and refusing to retract their statements during the June 2022 budget speech. This marks the third instance of EFF members being found guilty by the Powers and Privileges Committee in recent months. Despite a delay in January, the committee concluded its investigation into the […] todayMarch 15, 2024 16
insert_link South Africa Undersea Cable Breaks Cause Internet Disruptions Across South Africa South Africa grappled with extensive internet disruptions following multiple undersea cable breaks, leading to reports of service outages from major platforms like FNB, LinkedIn, and WhatsApp. Microsoft is investigating an outage affecting users in the Europe, Middle East, and Africa region, with notable impacts in South Africa, Kenya, and the United Kingdom. The exact location of the cable breaks, potentially near the Ivory Coast in West Africa, remains uncertain. Vodacom […] todayMarch 15, 2024 8
insert_link South Africa Progress Report on Lifestyle Audits of Senior Government Officials Presented to South African Cabinet Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, South Africa's Minister in the Presidency, revealed that the Cabinet has been briefed on the progress of lifestyle audits conducted on senior management service members. As of January last year, 24 national departments and 71 provincial departments had undergone these audits. However, following further interventions, Ntshavheni stated that the number of compliant departments had risen to 36 national government departments and 89 provincial departments by the end of […] todayMarch 15, 2024 14
insert_link South Africa Prof. Ntsikelelo Breakfast assesses Jacob Zuma’s impact on SA elections Despite being a disgraced former president who was sent to jail, Jacob Zuma is turning out to be the political wildcard in South Africa's election campaign. This follows his dramatic decision to ditch the governing African National Congress for the newly formed party uMkhonto we Sizwe. We spoke to Here’s to SA-based political analyst Professor Ntsikelelo Breakfast. todayMarch 14, 2024 28
insert_link South Africa eThekwini Municipality Takes Disciplinary Action Against Nearly 2,000 Striking Workers The eThekwini Municipality has taken decisive disciplinary action, including dismissals, against nearly two thousand staff members affiliated with the South African Municipal Workers Union who participated in an illegal strike. The workers had been protesting for salary increases. Mayor Mxolisi Kaunda disclosed that as of now, 81 employees are under precautionary suspension for misconduct related to the illegal strike, while one thousand seven hundred eighty-one employees have been served notices […] todayMarch 14, 2024 30